Photo illustration by Scott Olson/Getty Images(CHICAGO) — Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan on Wednesday issued an opinion judging that daily fantasy sports operations, such as DraftKings and FanDuel constitute gambling, setting up the state to potentially be the next to ban the contests.
The opinion comes after Democratic state Reps. Scott Drury and Elgie Sims sought Madigan’s opinion on the subject. The games have previously been deemed gambling in New York and Nevada.
In her opinion, Madigan notes current legislation to exempt fantasy sports contests from the state’s general prohibition of gambling. Still, “absent…legislation specifically exempting daily fantasy sports contests from the gambling provisions, it is my opinion that daily fantasy sports contests constitute illegal gambling under Illinois law,” Madigan wrote.
In response to the opinion, David Boies, counsel to DraftKings, said that the company disagrees with Madigan’s opinion. “We believe daily fantasy sports, which Illinois residents have been playing for years, are lawful under state law,” Boies said in a statement. “We also believe…that this is a policy question for state legislators to address. That is why we look forward to working with lawmakers…who wish to enact thoughtful and common-sense legislation that protects consumers’ rights to compete, while also adopting appropriate consumer protections.”
“Chicago may be the best sports town in the country,” FanDuel said in its own statement. “It’s a city — and Illinois is a state — that plays fantasy sports like almost no other.” Referencing the hit television show “The League,” which revolves around a group of friends in a fantasy football league, FanDuel questions “why the Attorney General would tell her 13.5 million constituents they can’t play fantasy sports anymore as they know it.”
“Hopefully,” FanDuel says, “the legislature will give back to the people of Illinois the games they love. A sports town like Chicago and a sports-loving state like Illinois deserves nothing less.”
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